This invention relates to cold-proof water-proof garment designed to be worn by the crew of ships such as fishing boats, especially when they are engaged in hazardous work in cold seas, or by people aboard a ship in distress at sea to protect the wearers if they should fall into the sea.
Work at sea in the cold is difficult, and in particular, work in the rain or stormy weather is not only dangerous, but could also cause physical problems for workers, such as colds or frostbite, as the rain and sea water fall onto the workers and penetrate their clothing. If a worker should accidentally fall overboard, the sea water will penetrate his clothing so that he becomes soaked to the skin, leading to the danger of him dying from cold while a waiting for rescue. When a ship sinks in a shipwreck, the crew are obliged to stay immersed in cold sea water while waiting for rescue, so that even if they wear life jackets, it is very likely that they will freeze to death.
The present inventor has already developed several kinds of cold-proof water-proof garment specifically designed for this purpose, but it has been found that there is still room for improvement in them.
Conventional cold-proof water-proof garment has the problem that the wearer's hands become very cold as he drifts in the sea, and could even become frostbitten if he should stay long in the sea. Also, in conventional cold-proof water-proof garment, the leg portions are formed to be large in size so as to facilitate wear, so that the air in the leg portions acts as a buoyant material which makes the wearer's legs float up to the sea surface. This leaves the wearer in a very unstable posture, and makes his body movements awkward. Consequently, the rescuer's work is made difficult and also the wearer tends to drift away because of the action of the wind or tide, hindering the rescue work.
The present invention has as its object the provision of improved cold-proof water-proof garment which is free of these problems of conventional garment.